Suspicious Death of PLA Scientist Who Shipped Coronavirus Vials to Us Just Before Pandemic Hit

Jul 29 2026 / International Business Times

Declassified US documents reveal a PLA scientist shipped coronavirus-related materials to the US before COVID-19, raising fresh questions about origins and oversight.

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Declassified US Senate documents have renewed scrutiny of a 2018 shipment of coronavirus-related research materials from a Chinese military-affiliated scientist to a US laboratory, though the records do not establish any connection between the shipment and the emergence of COVID-19.

The documents, including a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) field report dated June 2020, describe how three undeclared vials linked to Chinese researcher Zhou Yusen were intercepted at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport after being carried into the United States by a courier in November 2018.

The records have resurfaced as lawmakers continue examining the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent of scientific collaboration between Chinese military-linked researchers and overseas institutions.

However, US intelligence agencies have not reached a definitive conclusion on the origin of SARS-CoV-2, and the documents themselves do not claim that the intercepted shipment was related to the pandemic.

PLA-Linked Researcher Sent Coronavirus-Related Materials to US Scientist

According to the declassified DHS report, Zhou Yusen, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, which operates under China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), arranged for the shipment to University of Minnesota professor Li Fang in November 2018.

The courier reportedly told US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers that Zhou was the sender after the shipment was intercepted upon arrival in Detroit.

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Zhou's Death Has Also Drawn Renewed Attention

The Senate documents have also prompted renewed discussion of Zhou's death in May 2020. According to the report, Zhou died after reportedly falling from a building at the age of 54.

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/suspicious-death-pla-scientist-who-shipped-coronavirus-vials-us-just-before-pandemic-hit-1811333